Alabama loses second round in Water Wars case

(Press-Register file/Mark R. Kent)The Coosa River is part of the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa rivers basin that had been an issue in the decades-long Water Wars.

A federal judge in Birmingham today dismissed most of Alabama's lawsuit to prevent Georgia from siphoning too much water upstream from rivers that flow into the state.

U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre ruled that Alabama's allegations that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was improperly controlling the water flows in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa river basin were premature because the Corps' decisions were not considered final administrative action.

"While that delays Alabama's efforts to ensure that the state gets the water to which it is entitled under federal law, Alabama will be ready to re-file the claims as soon as the law permits," said Jeremy King, spokesman for Gov. Robert Bentley.